I spend a lot of time in my math class begging my students to practice their math facts. As we all know, fact fluency is crucial as students learn more complex math skills; they can't waste a ton of time figuring out what 7 x 8 is when they're supposed to be doing something way more complex. There are plenty of great non-technological ways for students to practice math facts, and there are even plenty of ways that involve technology. Our school pays tons of money (I'm sure) for subscriptions to Scholastic's Fasttmath program, and that program isn't even any fun!
Introducing Sumdog!! One of my teaching partners found this site, and there's a free version and a pay version. The free version is still pretty awesome though. Parents can register their kids, or teachers can register their entire classes! On Sumdog, students can practice fact fluency through games (and they're fun games, trust me, I've played). They can also practice skills like working with money, fractions, and algebra. Teachers can set what skills they want each individual student to practice and students. They can compete against their classmates in these games, and teachers can set up tournaments that encourage students to play! Sumdog is actually really easy to use, and I would highly recommend it, especially to schools where money for fun computer programs is not really available.
I couldn't find any official Sumdog videos, but what I did find when I was searching YouTube was that tons of kids have posted videos they've created on using the program. One of the kids (Jake--first video below) admitted that he didn't think the program was going to be fun, but he actually enjoyed it. The videos give you some ideas of what games your students might see and how the program works.
What a cool site! Do you know where you can find what grade level each game is for? I had to try all the games to find out what they were about. Knowing me, there probably is a directory that I am just not seeing. :-)
Beth, each game can be adjusted to your particular students' needs. For example, if you are looking for your students to practice fact fluency with addition or subtraction, you would choose (or have them choose) that under the topic section before they play the game. I can show you next class if you'd like.
This is super awesome! I have a kiddo who gets really frustrated and ended up throwing a huge tantrum when they were asked to count money because they just aren't understanding it. I'm going to try this with her next time I see her.
What a cool site! Do you know where you can find what grade level each game is for? I had to try all the games to find out what they were about. Knowing me, there probably is a directory that I am just not seeing. :-)
ReplyDeleteBeth, each game can be adjusted to your particular students' needs. For example, if you are looking for your students to practice fact fluency with addition or subtraction, you would choose (or have them choose) that under the topic section before they play the game. I can show you next class if you'd like.
DeleteThis is super awesome! I have a kiddo who gets really frustrated and ended up throwing a huge tantrum when they were asked to count money because they just aren't understanding it. I'm going to try this with her next time I see her.
ReplyDelete